Grass is the natural vegetation in this virtually treeless country. The high plateau is covered with montane or subalpine grassland. Red oat grass forms a dry carpet in much of the Drakensberg foothill region. The country's small size, high elevation, and limited range of habitats restrict the variety of fauna. The African lammergeier, a bird common in the mountains of Ethiopia but nowhere else in Africa, and the bald ibis, both of which are near extinction, are found in small numbers in the Drakensberg Range.